Illinois Commercial Mail Receiving Agency
Using a CMRA for Mail Management
Using a Commercial Mail Receiving Agency (CMRA), like Illinois Registered Office, gives you a professional, legitimate mailing address while helping you maintain your privacy. We explain what a CMRA is and how to hire one.
In this article:
Order Mail Services
- Same Day Mail Scans
- Unique Suite Number
- Junk Mail Shredding
- Month-to-Month Office Lease
- Conference Room Rental Options
- Starts at $49/year
What Is a Commercial Mail Receiving Agency?
A Commercial Mail Receiving Agency is a business authorized by the US Postal Service to rent private mailboxes to clients for forwarding or redistributing mail. A business must be registered as a CMRA in order to legally accept and forward your mail.
Illinois Registered Office is a CMRA, so we can securely and legitimately provide digital mail forwarding services to our clients.
Benefits of Hiring a CMRA
You might be wondering why you should pay for a CMRA rather than a traditional P.O. box. Here are some benefits to getting a CMRA:
1. A real, physical street address
A CMRA gives you a real street address, not an anonymous P.O. box. This adds legitimacy to your business, since people can search for your address online and see an actual office building.
When you hire us as your CMRA, you get a business address with a unique suite number in our Springfield building. This is where our employees receive and process your mail in-house. Unlike many competitors, we never forward your mail to third-party processing hubs.
2. Digital mail scanning, virtual office option, and more
A CMRA can offer more expansive mail services than the post office can, like mail scanning, digital mail storage, and more. Rather than requiring you to pick up your physical mail, a good CMRA can scan your mail to a secure online account, where you can instantly view it from anywhere.
Our mail scanning service includes same-day digital mail scans. If you need the physical mail document, you can have it forwarded to you with one click in your account. Our virtual office service includes additional perks, like a real month-to-month office lease, conference room rental options, and VoIP phone service.
3. Can accept mail from all carriers, not just USPS
Unlike a traditional P.O. box, a CMRA can accept mail from UPS, FedEx, and other mail carriers, not just USPS.
Requirements to Use a CMRA
The USPS requires you to submit PS Form 1583 and two forms of identification when you hire a CMRA. As your CMRA, we’ll submit this documentation for you!
1. Submit USPS Form 1583
Postal Service Form 1583 authorizes a CMRA to accept mail on your behalf.
You’ll need to provide the following:
- Full name
- Residential street address
- Photo ID
- Proof of address
When you hire us for mail scanning or virtual office, you’ll be able to complete this form electronically in your client account, and we’ll submit it for you. Easy peasy!
You also won’t need to worry about getting this form notarized. As your service provider, we can take care of that part.
2. Submit two forms of ID
You’ll need to submit one form of identification from each list:
Acceptable photo ID:
- U.S. State/Territory/Tribal Drivers or Non-Drivers ID Card
- U.S. Passport
- Foreign Passport
- Matricula Consular
- NEXUS card
- U.S. Access Card
- DOD Common Access Card
- PIV Card
- U.S. Certificate of Citizenship or Naturalization
- U.S. Permanent Resident Card
- U.S. Uniformed Service ID Card
- U.S. University Card
Acceptable proof of address:
- Lease
- Mortgage
- Deed of trust
- Voter or vehicle registration card
- Home or vehicle insurance policy
Types of identification that are NOT accepted:
- Social security cards
- Credit cards
- Birth certificates
- Concealed carry permit
The USPS requires your name and address, but this information won’t go on the public record. And if you hire us, we guarantee that we’ll NEVER sell your information to third parties.
Mail Scanning and Virtual Office Options
We offer a range of mail scanning and virtual office options, depending on your needs.
Mail Scanning
Our mail scanning service provides a permanent business address with a unique suite number. This is a real, physical address in our Springfield building. You also get same-day scans of your mail to a secure online account, where you can view it from anywhere.
We offer two tiers of mail scanning service, depending on how much mail you expect:
| Standard Mail Scanning | $49/year | 10 mail scans |
| Deluxe Mail Scanning | $99/year | 25 mail scans |
If you want UNLIMITED mail scans, check out our virtual office option below.
Virtual Office
For just $19 a month, our virtual office service includes all the features of mail scanning, plus…
- Unlimited mail scans
- Month-to-month office lease
- Option to rent conference rooms in our Springfield office
- VoIP phone service with local phone number of your choice
Not sure which package is best for you? You can easily upgrade or downgrade your service at any time.
Commercial Mail Receiving Agency FAQs
You’ll need to submit two separate forms of identification for the photo ID and proof of address. The USPS doesn’t allow you to use the same ID for both.
An officer of the business is required to provide their ID when submitting Form 1583.
You can use a US CMRA even if you don’t live in the United States. You’ll still need to provide proof of address, but this address doesn’t have to be in the US.
You’ll need to submit an updated form when your photo ID expires, or if the address or mail recipient changes.